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Slightly further along the road, in fact practically on the edge of the village is the Shepherd and Dog pub, with splendid views of the Downs, this fitted much better my mental image of a country pub, however the real interest here for me was next door to the pub.

An important feature of these villages at the foot of the Downs are the many springs emanating from the hillside. More than that they probably owe their existence to the presence of these springs.

Previous residents of Fulking have utilised this water source for their benefit, with the installation of a hydraulic ram pump to distribute water throughout the village.

The story has it that in years gone by the streams of water have been dammed and the road flooded, the resulting pools used for sheep washing.

I don’t know whether there is still a pump inside the beautiful little pump house, there was certainly quite a flow of water, although we have had a lot of rain recently which could account for the volume of water.

Fulking pump house

I find it amazing that such care and thought went into the design and building of this pump house, which could have been so plain and simple. Even the door hinges are quite possibly the most ornate I have ever seen.